Busted

The Lake County, California saga that we’ve been following for three years now is finally getting close to a conclusion, and possibly not the one that crooked cop Russell Perdock was hoping for. You’ll recall that Perdock was motoring across a small CA lake at over 40 mph when he ran over a small sailboat, killing one of the crew and destroying the boat. You also might remember that the responding officer was instructed to not give Deputy Sheriff Perdock a breathalyzer at the scene, and also that Perdock claimed he’d been home, cleaning his boat, until going out for his fatal late night run. Rather than charging Perdock with manslaughter, the local DA charged Dinius Bismarck, the unfortunate guy holding the tiller in the barely-moving sailboat as Perdock ran them down.

The litany of corrupt actions and prosecutorial missteps of the Lake Country good ol’ boys is amazing, though with a bulldog journalist and widespread public outcry applying pressure, it looks like some justice may work into the case. Yesterday, the judge requested a delay of the trial (which had been scheduled to begin today) in order to evaluate new evidence that Perdock had been at a bar, possibly drinking, before the incident – rather than home as he claimed. The DA also revealed that they’d failed to disclose this information, as well as other important discovery, until this late date. The police had also somehow “lost” the 911 calls related to the case.

The trial is now scheduled to begin next month, but given these new revelations, it will be a surprise if the DA proceeds with the case. It’s far more likely that we’ll see some sort of disciplinary action against Perdock, if not from the nepotistic Lake County government than for perjury in front of the court.

After 19 years in publication, Sailing Anarchy has remained true to its roots as a community oriented, edgy sailing publisher. We have long been, and will continue to be, the leader in providing inside stories, great reports from around the globe, along with the informative, snarky, profane coverage that you have come to expect. Others come and go, dilly dally with bullshit, while we remain Anarchists to the core.